The Ford Country Squire (later the Ford LTD Country Squire) is a series of station wagons that was assembled by American automaker Ford. The premium station wagon of the Ford division, the Country Squire was distinguished by its external woodgrain trim. From the 1950 to 1991 model years, eight generations of the Country Squire were produced. Following the discontinuation of Edsel, Mercury marketed the Mercury Colony Park as a divisional counterpart of the Country Squire, sharing bodywork and trim.
As part of the full-size Ford model range, the Country Squire was the station wagon counterpart of several model lines. For its first two generations, the Country Squire was based upon the Ford Custom Deluxe (and the Ford Crestline that replaced it). For its next three generations, the Country Squire was a distinct model range; initially sharing its trim with the Ford Fairlane, the Country Squire later adopted trim of the Ford Galaxie. For its final two generations, the Country Squire became a counterpart of Ford LTD (the Ford LTD Crown Victoria after its downsizing).
The Country Squire was discontinued as part of the development of the 1992 Ford Crown Victoria. Following a decline in full-size station wagon sales, the Crown Victoria was introduced exclusively as a four-door sedan, leaving the Country Squire with no direct replacement. As of 2019 production, Ford does not sell a sedan-based station wagon in North America. The 41-year production run of the Country Squire is the third-longest of a Ford car nameplate in North America, surpassed only by the Ford Thunderbird (46 years) and Ford Mustang (56 years, currently in production).
Sixth generation (1965-1968)
For the 1965 model year, the full-size Ford model line underwent a complete redesign with an all-new chassis. Alongside the introduction of the Ford LTD, the Country Squire was a counterpart of the Galaxie 500 model line alongside the non-woodgrain Country Sedan (alongside the standard Galaxie).
During the production of the sixth-generation Country Squire, wood-trimmed station wagons (in simulated form) underwent a revival in production. Previously exclusive to Ford and Mercury from 1954 to 1965, counterpart station wagons entered production during the end of the 1960s. For 1966, Chrysler reintroduced wood trim for the Town & Country station wagon (and for the first Dodge Monaco station wagon). General Motors introduced wood trim for the 1966 Chevrolet Caprice Estate and in 1967 for the Buick Sport Wagon and Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser. As part of the 1968 introduction of the Ford Torino and Mercury Montego, a Torino Squire and Montego Villager station wagon were introduced with woodgrain exterior trim.
As the LTD became a full model line for the 1968 model year, the Country Squire became its station wagon counterpart, with Ford adding "LTD" badging to the hood.
Model overview
To comply with the implementation of safety regulations in the United States, many running changes were made during this generation, effectively standardizing the equipment introduced by the Lifeguard option package. For 1966, Ford standardized front and rear seat belts, a padded dashboard and sun visors, a deep-dish steering wheel, reinforced door latches, and emergency flashers. For 1967, as part of federal regulations, the steering wheel was fitted with a padded center and fitted to an energy-absorbing (collapsible) steering column; other requirements included padded interior surfaces, recessed controls on the instrument panel, and front outboard shoulder belt anchors. As an added degree of redundancy, a dual-chamber brake master cylinder was added for the 1968 model year (on the Country Squire, alongside all other vehicles sold in the United States).
Chassis specifications
The rear-wheel drive 1965 Ford chassis used by the sixth-generation Country Squire retained the 119-inch wheelbase of the previous generation. For higher strength and rigidity, the frame rails became fully-boxed; the perimeter frame configuration was retained. While again using a double-wishbone, ball-jointed A-arm configuration for the front suspension, the front track width was widened to improve handling. The rear leaf springs were discontinued, replaced with a three-link coil-sprung solid rear axle; in various forms, Ford would use this suspension configuration on rear-wheel drive full-size vehicles through the production of the final Ford Crown Victoria in 2011.
Powertrain
For the sixth generation, the Country Squire (alongside Ford full-size cars and F-Series trucks) received a new standard engine, with a 240 cubic-inch "Big Six" inline-6 (producing 150 hp) replacing the 223 cubic-inch "Mileage Maker" six. The three V8 engines were retained from the previous generations, with a 200 hp 289 cubic-inch V8, a 250 hp 352 cubic-inch V8, and a 300 hp 390 cubic-inch V8. For 1966, two versions of the 390 were introduced, producing 275 hp (2-bbl) or 315 hp (4-bbl). For the first time, a 428 cubic-inch V8 was offered on the Country Squire, producing 345 hp. For 1967, the 352 FE V8 was dropped, largely replaced by the 2-bbl version of the 390 (producing 270 hp). For 1968, the 289 was expanded to 302 cu in (4.9 L), producing 210 hp. The 2-bbl 390 and 428 were retuned, making 265 and 340 hp, respectively.
While maintaining powertrain commonality with the Ford Galaxie, on an official basis, Ford did not offer the Country Squire with any version of the 428 V8 producing over 345 hp, nor any 427 V8.
For the sixth-generation Country Squire, the 3-speed column-shifted manual made its return, along with the 4-speed overdrive manual. For 1967 only, a floor-shifted 4-speed manual was offered for the Country Squire (only with the 390 and 428 V8s). The Fordomatic 3-speed automatic was retired, with Cruise-O-Matic replaced by several 3-speed automatic designs marketed under the SelectShift name; the C4 was developed for inline-6 and small V8s, while the C6 was developed for large V8s; the FMX was introduced for medium-size engines in 1968.
Body
For the sixth generation, the Country Squire again shared its doors with four-door Ford sedans. While the roofline of the Country Squire was shared with the Mercury Colony Park, the two model lines shared different bodywork below the window lines (including front fascias and rear quarter panels). In a major styling change, full-size Ford's adopted vertically-stacked headlamps, raising the hood line and enlarging the grille.
In a design change that would last through its 1991 discontinuation, the 1965 Country Squire replaced the third-row rear seat configuration for two (optional) flat-folding rear seats facing towards the center of the cargo area, expanding seating to 10 passengers. Coinciding with all full-size Fords, the Country Squire adopted two-sided keys for 1965, introducing a valet key (while unlocking the front doors and starting the car, the key would not unlock the glovebox and rear cargo door).
Following a minor grille update for the 1967 model year, the Country Squire underwent an exterior update for the 1968 model year. Coinciding with its becoming a counterpart of the Ford LTD, the Country Squire adopted its split-grille front fascia, adopting vacuum-operated hidden headlamps; as a fail-safe, the system retracted the headlamp covers if engine vacuum was lost. While the feature was shared with the Colony Park (and its Marquis counterpart), the redesign marked a significant differentiation of front fascia designs between the two model lines. In another change, the taillamps switched from a square design (derived from the traditional Ford round taillamps of the 1940s and 1950s) to a vertically-oriented rectangle (a design used to 1991).
Magic doorgate
For 1966, all Ford wagons introduced the Magic Doorgate rear door configuration. Engineered by Donald N. Frey, the two-way tailgate configuration allowed the rear door to fold down (like a traditional tailgate) or hinge open to the side (as a door). The Magic Doorgate was made possible through a traditional stationary hinge on the passenger side and a combination of hinges on the driver side, carrying the weight of the tailgate when it swung outward. While opened by the exterior or interior door handle, the rear door would not open to the side or fold down unless the rear window was retracted.
In various adaptations, the two-way rear door would become utilized on full-size station wagons across Ford, General Motors, and AMC during the 1970s.
Source: Wikipedia
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